Мені потрібна хвилина.

I need a minute.

Breakdown of Мені потрібна хвилина.

• я: I
• потрібний: necessary
• хвилина: the minute

Questions & Answers about Мені потрібна хвилина.

Why is мені in the dative case rather than the nominative я?

In Ukrainian, “to need something” isn’t expressed with a transitive verb taking a nominative subject and accusative object as in English. Instead, the person who needs something goes into the dative case.

• мені is the dative form of я (“I”) and literally means “to me.”
• The thing needed (here хвилина) is the grammatical subject in nominative.

What part of speech is потрібна? Is it a verb?

потрібна is an adjective (the short form of потрібний, “needed/necessary”), not a verb. It acts as a predicate adjective describing the subject хвилина, so literally “a minute is needed.”

Why does потрібна agree with хвилина and not with мені?

Adjectives in Ukrainian agree with the noun they modify. Since хвилина (“minute”) is feminine singular nominative, the adjective becomes потрібна (fem. sing. nom.). мені is dative (an indirect object), so adjectives do not agree with it.

What is the grammatical structure of “Мені потрібна хвилина”?

The sentence breaks down as follows:

1. мені – dative pronoun (“to me”)
2. потрібна – predicate adjective (fem. sing. nom.)
3. хвилина – subject noun (fem. sing. nom.)
   Literally: “To me is needed a minute.”

Why can’t we just say “Я потрібна хвилина”?

That would wrongly make я the subject and хвилина an object or apposition. In Ukrainian you don’t say “I am needed a minute.” Instead the needed thing is the subject in nominative, and the person needing it is in dative, so you need мені потрібна хвилина.

Could I say Мені потрібно хвилина instead of потрібна?

Yes, that uses the impersonal neuter form потрібно, which doesn’t change for gender or number. It’s often used with numerals or general necessities:

• Мені потрібно ще дві хвилини.
  For a single feminine noun you’ll more precisely match gender with потрібна, but потрібно remains grammatically acceptable.

How would you make this sentence negative?

Place не before the adjective (or impersonal form):

• Мені не потрібна хвилина.
  = “I don’t need a minute.”

How do you ask someone “Do you need a minute?” in Ukrainian?

Use the same pattern, change the pronoun and add a question mark:

• Тобі потрібна хвилина?
  Here тобі is the dative of ти (“you”).

How would you say “I need two minutes” or “I need five minutes”?

With numerals you typically use the impersonal потрібно + dative pronoun + numeral + noun in proper case:

• Мені потрібно дві хвилини. (“two minutes”)
• Мені потрібно п’ять хвилин. (“five minutes”)
  Note: numerals 2–4 often pair with the genitive singular or special plural form depending on the noun, and 5+ with genitive plural.

When might you use the verb потребувати instead?

потребувати is a regular transitive verb meaning “to require” and takes a genitive object:

• Я потребую допомоги. – “I need help.”
  It sounds more formal or literary. In everyday speech, especially about time, Ukrainians prefer мені потрібна/потрібно.